Find out how popular the last name Upegui is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Upegui.

Upegui, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Upegui surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Upegui in America

Upegui is the 95955th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Upegui surname appeared 190 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 people would have the surname Upegui.

We can also compare 2010 data for Upegui to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

The history of the last name Upegui

The surname Upegui has its origins in Colombia, South America. It is believed to have roots in the indigenous Quechua language spoken by the Inca people who inhabited the Andes region before the Spanish conquest.

The name Upegui is thought to be derived from the Quechua words "upak" meaning "he who delivers" and "hui" meaning "offspring" or "descendant". Thus, the name may have originally referred to a respected individual or leader responsible for guiding or delivering the community's next generation.

Records from the early colonial era in Colombia show variants of the name such as Upeguy, Upegue, and Upegual appearing in Spanish chronicles and parish registers from the 16th and 17th centuries. This suggests the name was adopted and adapted by Spanish colonists interacting with native Quechua communities.

One of the earliest known bearers of the Upegui name was Juan de Upegui, a Spanish conquistador and explorer who accompanied Gonzalo Jiménez de Quesada on his expedition to the interior of present-day Colombia in 1536. Juan de Upegui is credited with establishing the settlement of Mariquita, one of the first Spanish towns in the region.

In the 18th century, the Upegui surname is recorded in the town of Rionegro, Antioquia, where a prominent family of landowners and political figures emerged. Notable members included José María Upegui (1780-1845), a lawyer and statesman who served as governor of Antioquia province.

Other historical figures bearing the Upegui name include Rafael Upegui (1814-1887), a military officer and politician who fought in Colombia's civil wars, and Jesús María Upegui (1864-1932), a Catholic priest and educator who founded several schools and colleges in Antioquia.

The surname Upegui has also been associated with places such as the town of Upegui in the municipality of El Santuario, Antioquia, which likely took its name from the local Upegui family. Additionally, there is a neighborhood called Upegui in the city of Medellín.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Upegui

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Upegui.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

1. White only
2. Black only
3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
5. Hispanic
6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Upegui was:

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Upegui has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Upegui was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Upegui, please contact us.

Reference this page

We spend a lot of resources downloading, cleaning, merging, and formatting the data that is shown on the site.

If you found the data or information on this page useful in your research, please use the tool below to properly cite or reference Name Census as the source. We appreciate your support!